Anna Simms

Research Topic: Astrological Guidance in Early English Print Culture (1498-1558)

I am a part-time doctoral student in Early Modern History at Lincoln College.

My research investigates the place of astrology during the reigns of Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I, and considers the guidance it offered via printed products. Both astrology and print during these years have received limited attention to date, often overshadowed by the events surrounding the Reformation, and I am interested in the role astrology played in offering stability and reassurance at this time. Also how print made this art -which had only been available to royalty and nobility- accessible to all levels of society. My project looks at the role of political prophecy, personal prediction and nativities, the use of astrology within agriculture, and astrological medicine. My source base is primarily made up of printed almanacs and prognostications, but also medical guides, husbandry texts, works of divination, and texts books, to demonstrate astrology as a multi-disciplinary subject which was pervasive across classes and occupations.

I graduated from the University of Oxford in 2021 with an MSt. in Historical Studies. My thesis, ‘The Signes of the Tymes: Astrological Guidance in Marian Print Culture, 1553-1558’, considered the role of astrology in print during the five-year reign of Mary I with a particular focus on the relationship between religion and astrology at that time.

I received a BSc. in Psychology (2007) and a PGCE in education (2008) whereby I have worked in various teaching roles as a primary, secondary, and special educational needs teacher, and tutor, and continue to be interested and active in education, particularly in the teaching of history.

Supervisor: Dr Lucy Wooding